Hello all, I just joined this forum and have a few questions I was hoping someone could help me with. I have recently purchased my first ATV. I paid $1800 for a 1995 Suzuki King Quad 300. It was just serviced before I purchased it and is running great. There are a few concerns though. I will be purchasing the manual that will answer alot of my little questions, but in the mean time...

1. There is a small lever on the right side of the cylinder, I can't figure out what that might be. When I pull it, it locks into place and then when starting, it flips back to the original position. Is this a pressure release valve?

2. There is some ticking at certain RPM's coming from the engine. I plan on getting the valves checked but wondered if in the mean time (money being an issue) would any cleaner off any kind help, and if so, how would I use it?

3. While it is possible for me to change into 4x4 while moving and in gear, should I, is it bad for the drive train/transmition?

4. Sometimes the low/high/super-low and 2wd/4wd/differential lock get stuck and won't move. In order to get it to change I must push the quad slightly until it changes with a little pressure. This does not always happen, just sometimes. Weird. User error I am sure.

5. In the oil window (right side behind rear wheel) I know to look for it to be 3/4 full. Well, this is true some of the time, but not in others.? Is this caused by the axles turning or not while sitting (oil not moving through correctly) or possiblly a bad oil filter.

6. The odometer reads 1898 miles. Guestimation, will I get some time still out of this ATV? From what I read these Quads are put in the "they don't make em like that anymore" category. What is the real story on this year and model? What do I need to be looking for in order to keep this great recreational ride running?

7. The front brakes do not work on my quad, this year had the hydrohlic (excuse my spelling) brakes. Is it possible to have aftermarket disks installed that don't use hydraulics? The seller of this told me it would cost approximately $500 dollars to get the front brakes fixed. The back brakes just aren't cutting it and I never really expected them to. Will it really cost me this much to get some stop on that thing?

Please forgive my nieve questions, but as I stated, I am new to ATV's and do not have a ton of mechanical knowledge. Thanks in advance for any help you may offer. I look forward to linking up with some members and taking some rides.

 

1. It's a compression release lever to help with using the pull start.
2. You could try a slightly heavier oil, but most likely it need a valve adjustment.
3. As long as you are moving at moderate speeds and most important - have the front wheels turning at the same speed as the back - then there will be no problems. Just don't switch between 2wd and 4wd while under load. I always switched mine on the go with no problems.
4. Not user error - KQ error. This is just a trait of the machine.
5. The oil window is a crappy method of checking oil level. It will read differently if cold or hot or if the oil is aggitated with some air bubbles in the system. On top of that, you need to did through all the caked on mud just to get a read.
6. 1898 is just getting broken in. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] I know of one KQ that is at 20K+ miles. While it may take some rebuilding the KQ is a sturdy bike that will last a long, long time.
7. You can probably change out the front brakes to the '02+ model front disc brakes. Not sure just how much money that would set you back. The cheaper alternative is to just rebuild the brakes as they are originally. The brakes are not great as they do not seal well. They easily get dirty and corroded and tend to bind up.

You've got a good, solid bike. It can go anywhere but is limited in both power and suspension travel. I had one for several years and it did well for me however as a trail machine it was easily surpassed by my Eiger and then my Outlander. As a work bike, the KQ 300 rules.

Jaybee

 

Thank you for your help, it shines a light on alot of my questions. I do however have one more for you. This morning I noticed that my right rear tire is angled much more than the left one. How do you change the angle on your rear tires and what is the suggested angle? I guess it depends on the terrain and type of ridding but I'm not sure. It was not like this when I got it, so does this mean that something came loose or did I break something. Thanks.

 

the KQ has independent rear suspension for a cushy ride. the angle in when your not sitting on it. have someone else ride it for you and look and you'll see. your good to go man.

 

Your right, lol, my tire was flat, got some fix a flat and fixed it right up. There were no holes or foreign objects in the tire. I think it just escaped from the rim. Camber fixed itself right up after filling up tire with air, hehe, told ya I was new to this

 

Jaybee's advice was spot on.
I had one of these, a 95 for nine years.
Just fix the front brakes the way they are. They are a very solid design.
The sticky shifters are normal, it's just the gears loading up.
Shift into/out of 4wd as you want, just not under load. Let off the throttle, that's all.

 

My Late cousin had two of these Suzuki atv's , the first was a 1989 Suzuki LT4WD 250 Quad Runner ; and the last was a 1993 Suzuki LT4WD 300 King Quad !

I bought the 93' KQ a couple yrs. after he passed away from his youngest brother , they were both identical except for the Tires and wheel sixe and a few more cc's to the engine not to mention the plastics color the 89' was orange and black the 93' KQ was blue and black ; i kept the 93' KQ untill Feb. 2006 it had 1200 miles on it when i bought it !

I had to rebuild the brake's in 2006 just a few month's before i sold it to my brother , it was expensive the Suzuki Dealer list the wheel cylinders at $65.99 each for the front 4x$65.99 plus tax ; and $39,99 each side for the brake shoe's 2x$39.99 plus tax and $49.99 for new seal's[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img]'Ring type for both wheel's on the front !

The rear wheel cylinders list at $79.99 , shoes were $63.99 plus tax at the Suzuki Dealership for the one rear wheel brakes ; lucky for me the local Arctic Cat Dealer got the work's for me at just over $150.00 plus tax !

On your list of question's , 1. Compression Release for pull rope starting , 2. Valves should be checked and adjusted if needed , my cousin was alway's hearing ticking noise from the engine when he was smoking wacky tobacky , 3. Don't change from 2wd to 4wd while moving , 4. Shift cables could need a slight adjustment , but it will still be tricky shifting gear's because of the sub transmissiom ; just the nature of the beast , 5.By all mean's change the oil and oil filter , my cousin only used Castrol GTX 20w50 year round for the sight glass proper reading when on level ground cold half way mark in sight glass is full mark it hold's right at 4 quart's with the oil filter change ; and clean and relube the air filter , 6. At 1898 miles this quad is just broken in , 7. Well i already answered that one with the hydrolic brake's , but it can be converted to disc brake's ; that was something i had considered but for lack of money !

One thing about shifting gear's on this quad i had to Drill into my cousin , was not to stop and shut down the engine when it wasn't in first gear or newtral ; the sub transmission gave this quad some slack motion in the gear box !

Before i lost my leg's in 75' i drove a truck for a local chemical company , these International short truck's had the same kind of sub tranny in them making it hard to shift unless you shifted at the right RPM's ; my late cousin never got the hang of shifting so he would alway's start out in third or forth gear which isn't real good for the clutch's !

But it never needed adjusting even with this hard drive it recieved from 93' to 99' when he passed away , i did all the maintence to both of his quad's and mine ; the brakes went south mainly because he rode the brakes going down hill's even though i could put it in Super Low 4wd and the main transmission in first gear you had to give it the throddle to get it to go down some of the steepest hill's at some pipe lines near his sister's house were we rode alot !

You could park this quad on the steepest hill with the engine turned off it would creep down the hill , but when my cousin would start down these hill's ; he would flip out when he felt the loose motion caused by the sub transmission to feel like it was going to run away with him causing him to grab the brake's !

The hardest part of adjusting the valves on this quad , is the removing the rear rack and rear plastic's ; but it would pay to get a good Service and Repair Shop Manual which you can get from this site !

www.RepairManuals.com

I hope this answer's all your question's , and sorry for such a long reply ; but everone on the forums know i'm Famous for these long replies !........

 

Yeah, it does. Thank you so much. Glad to know I can get those lengthy descriptions and explanations, I need them (I AM LAMEN). I love this quad, it's great, reliable and just what I need. Wow, yeah, I have heard that the breaks could be really expensive, but it is essential I guess. So far I haven't had any problems with just using the back brake and the engine (downshifting). I have some really cool trails out here where I live in NC. Breaks haven't been an issue yet (trails are really wide and corners aren't to bad. Water runs all along these trails and it is great for the occasional dip in the mudd. The reason I asked the question about changing into 4wd while moving is because with mine, there have been an occasion where I have attempted something in 2wd when I should have been in 4wd and when I got stuck, it wouldn't go into 4wd. While moving slowly it always pops into 4wd and sometimes I can change into 4wd while at a stop. It really has a mind of it's own when it comes to that. The ticking is bothering me though. I am impatient and have not purchased a trailer yet to transport my quad to get the valves checked. It's not a severe clicking but I am sure that if I continue to ride it will become just that. I plan on getting that trailer within the next month, but I ride almost everyday for at least an hour, should I chill out and wait before I do serious damage. OR....Should I be patient, ehhm, and get a buddy to haul it to the shop for me to fix the ticking first and foremost. Man I hate being sensible, I want to ride.

 

OLDSCHOOLQUAD i did an edit on this repliy to shorten it a little , and to answer another question on your quad about the hard shifting from 2wd to 4wd ; the main reason it get's hard to shift between 2wd and 4wd is the sub transmission and all the shift cable's used in the gearing of this quad !

The sub transmission alone give's 2 to 3 inch's of free travel between gear's , this make's it hard at time's to shift the sub trans from High Low and Super Low ; and the 2wd 4wd Differencial lock and sometime's the reverse lever !

That's why it's so important to down shift into neutral , before shutting down the engine ; try this when you're in neutral shut down the engine then shift the main foot shifter into first gear then rock the quad back and forth !

You will feel the free play/travel in the gearing , and when you get in a bind like on a hill or in a mud hole you'll see why i said to have your KQ in the right gear and mode ; what i alway's did when i got stuck or in a bind and the engine died on me was to rock it back and forth to get it out of gear !

It's hard to do when you're stuck in a mud hole , infact it's almost impossible when you're stuck in deep mud ; there were time's when my cousin or one of my brother's got stuck i would have to pull up behind them and give them a little bump so they could get it out of gear !

But as long as the engine is still running you can give it a little tap of the throddle to get it into neutral , then you can shift between the gear mode's ; i alway's seemed to forget to shift to neutral before trying to shift the reverse lever because i never rode the KQ when someone was riding with me mainly because i hadn't put a hand shifter on the KQ !

And i was so use to the Foreman and the ease in shifting the gear's on it , and i loved the power of the Foreman even though it wouldn't run as fast on top end of the KQ ; but i could lay back when the dust was flying then gun the Foreman and i was on the donkey of the KQ in second's over these rough and rocky trail's !

Lord have Mercy i've done it again , i'll have to edit out everything on the bottom of this reply ; it's longer now than it was before the edit !
It's still a mile long but i guess anyone who took the time to read the entire reply has done it already , so good luck with your KQ and if i can help you more i will in another reply !.......

 

I have found a occasional clicking on my 92 KQ when riding it on a gravel road in 4WD. It seems that the front differential & the rear differential are not exactly the same gearing & when one builds more than the other, it pops & goes on for another while. I have solved that by shifting into 2WD for the roads, but like you say, you have to remember to shift back to 4WD before you jump off in the brush.